When I was a little girl I would often have bad dreams. My Grandma Sarah used to say to me “Julie, just call out to Jesus when you are having a bad dream. If you just say His name, no matter where you are, He will always hear you.”

Some may have remembered those words of encouragement only when they had a bad dream, but I applied those words to my entire life.

Grandma Sarah also told me that His name was mighty and powerful, and boy, was she right.

In instances in my life when I’ve only been able to shed tears, I would find myself being reminded of Grandma Sarah’s advice — “Just call out to Jesus” — and I would call out to Him. Just uttering His name brought such peace to me.

There was a reason Grandma taught me to just say His name. She had already experienced the power of His name in her life. She already knew that He was the answer to all of her problems and the answer to all of joys in life.

She understood what it meant to celebrate Him all of the time, not just during the Easter season. She understood that He and He alone was the only way to Heaven. But mostly she needed a Savior, and she knew He was her Savior.

As you celebrate Good Friday and then the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, I hope that you are consumed with gratefulness in your heart for what Jesus did for all of us — sinners and non-sinners.

I pray that you realize just how incredibly powerful His death and that fact that He Lives means to our lives.

I also pray that you take the opportunity to fall more in love with Him. Who couldn’t love a man who loved us so much that He hung on a cross, had his skin ripped off, was mocked and tortured beyond comprehension, just because He loved us, as we are?

We are selfish, broken and unworthy. Yet, He sees beyond our shortcomings and loves us anyway.

May you understand the love of a man who died for you, just for you — His name is Jesus.

You were on His mind when He died for you. Now, that’s something to think about.

Julie Wells is the editorial assistant in the newsroom at the Rockdale Citizen. She can be reached at julie.wells@rockdalecitizen.com.